Talk on History of Cheese in Maine

February 12 @ 6:30 pm

On Tuesday February 12th, 6:30 pm the Belfast Free Library will host a talk by Eric Rector on “The History of Cheese in Maine.” The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Abbott Room.

Eric Rector has been making cheese commercially since 2006, but his interest in cheese goes back to the 1980s when he discovered that there was a world beyond Kraft Individual Slices of Processed American Cheese Food.

Recently Eric researched the history of cheese making in his town of Monroe, which extends from the 1870s through the 1940s. Dairy has always been one of the top three agricultural industries in Maine, and Maine once had over 60 cheese factories across the state like the one in Monroe village. He wondered why Maine never gained the kind of reputation for cheese and dairy as Vermont? The answer goes way back to the beginning of civilization, and continues through today, and he has created a talk that describes what he found.

Following Eric’s talk there will be a reception — sponsored by Eat More Cheese — with samples of the kind of cheese that would have been made throughout Maine in the 1800s, as well as examples of what is being made today in Maine.